The King and the Sea
by Every Shade of Blue
Summary: Oneshot. I know this has been done hundreds, if not thousands, of times, but now I finally feel ready to I try my hand at writing Will's return home at the end of his ten years on the Dutchman. I'd love to know how it compares!


So I was just messing around one day, writing some thoroughly pointless and unpublishable Wilabeth fluff, when my brain suddenly kicked into 'wannabe professional novelist' mode and spat out the conversation that quickly turned into this lovely oneshot. It was pretty cool.

**Disclaimer: **The depressingly long list of things that I do not own includes, but is not limited to: _Pirates of the Caribbean_, Will Turner, Elizabeth Turner, and "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe. There, I said it. And now I'm sad...

* * *

_It was many and many a year ago,  
_

_In a kingdom by the sea,  
_

_That a maiden there lived whom you may know  
_

_By the name of ANNABEL LEE;  
_

_And this maiden she lived with no other thought  
_

_Than to love and be loved by me._

_I was a child and she was a child,_

_In this kingdom by the sea;_

_But we loved with a love that was more than love-_

_I and my Annabel Lee…_

Time had stopped.

That was the only way he could describe it: time had, quite simply, stopped. In that unbelievable moment - the first time Will Turner had set foot on land in ten years, he first time he had held and kissed his wife since the day he had died - in that moment, time itself had ceased to exist. The second he had felt the soft sand beneath his boots, almost before it had time to register, she had thrown herself into his arms, her lips pressed tight against his, kissing him desperately, as though their very lives depended in it. He had held her as if he would never let go, while she buried her fingers in his hair, holding onto him tightly. He could have stayed that way forever, just holding her and kissing her –

And then they were interrupted, and he couldn't help feeling disappointed, until he turned and saw exactly what had caused the interruption. Standing before him was the single most wonderful and unbelievable surprise he could ever have imagined: a son. His son. _Their_ son. His name was William - he preferred Liam - and he was a mirror image of Will himself as a young boy.

Will had been almost in shock; he had trouble comprehending how something this incredible could actually have happened. But nonetheless, the boy standing in front of him was undoubtedly his, and Will was so happy he could barely speak. And when Liam, without question or hesitation, had flung himself into his father's arms and hugged him as though he'd thought this moment would never come, Will had nearly cried.

Even now, as he stood in the doorway of the little boy's room and watched him sleep, Will held his breath, half afraid that it was all a dream, and he was about to wake up on the Dutchman and find out that none of it had been true at all.

He heard soft footsteps behind him, and two thin arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind.

"Will..."

She tugged him gently backwards out of the doorway, closing the door silently behind them, her hazel eyes shining with pure love as she looked up at him.

"I missed you so much," she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

Will swallowed hard, quickly enfolding her in his arms. Blinking rapidly, struggling to hold back his own tears, he leaned toward her, kissing her again now that they were finally alone. Whereas their first kiss had been almost frenzied, this one was unhurried and sweet. After a long moment, Will broke the contact, resting his forehead against hers.

"Elizabeth…" he said quietly. "I can't even – "

He was interrupted by a faint noise from Liam's bedroom. Elizabeth pressed a finger to his lips with a slight smile.

"He's a light sleeper," she whispered. "Come on." She took his hand, pulling him down the hall into her bedroom – _their_ bedroom, she reminded herself. She tugged him inside, shutting the door silently behind them.

"Is it safe to talk now?" Will whispered, grinning sheepishly.

Elizabeth laughed quietly, nodded.

Will took her in his arms yet again, pressing close to her. "I don't even know how to say…" He brought one of his hands up to cup the side of her face. "It's been ten years, Elizabeth. _Ten years_ since…" He stopped again, struggling to put his tumultuous thoughts and feelings into words. "I could see you in my head every minute of every day, but I couldn't be with you, hold you, kiss you... I've spent ten years waiting for this moment…"

The last time Elizabeth had seen him so close to tears was the day he had left. She wrapped her arms a little tighter around him, wanting nothing more than to comfort him.

"I've been waiting for _this _moment," be whispered softly, "because this is the moment when neither of us has to spend another minute alone. When neither of us will never have to wake up without the other ever again." His thumb stroked her cheek as she gazed up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Elizabeth Turner," he said quietly, his voice earnest and infinitely tender, "I lost my life to the sea, and I became the sea. I love you with all the passion of the sea."

Deep in his fathomless eyes a storm was raging, the wind and rain and frothing waves intermingling in the depths of his very soul.

"In the same way that the sea stretches endlessly on, conquering all other things, my love for you will never end. It will never fade or grow dim. Nothing can weaken it, or conquer it."

She watched a few tears fall from his eyes, brushed them away deftly.

"My love for you will outlast the sea." He leaned toward her until they were so close, so very close, but not quite touching.

"You are the sea," Elizabeth murmured, her lips ghosting over his, "and I am the King of the sea. No force in this world can break our bond."

Will closed his eyes, holding back more tears. "You have my heart."

"And you have mine." Her voice was barely a whisper as he at last claimed her lips, her fingers intertwining with his as their heartbeats mingled and became one.

_But our love it was stronger by far than the love_

_Of those who were older than we-_

_Of many far wiser than we-  
_

_And neither the angels in heaven above,  
_

_Nor the demons down under the sea,  
_

_Can ever dissever my soul from the soul  
_

_Of the beautiful Annabel Lee._

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__I love my brain's 'wannabe professional novelist' mode. So what do you think? :)


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